Thursday 5 April 2018

Anime Spotlight : Winter 2018 A fantastic start to the year



 The Winter 2018 Anime season is over and what a fantastic season it was. for the most part. It wasn't all smooth sailing though, some of the sequels turned out to be dogshit to say the least like Basilisk...and some series the studio just gave up completely like Marchen Madchen. But that's in the past and now it's time to see which of the completed anime series was the BEST, I will, as always, share my thoughts on the rest of the shows I followed.

Violet Evergarden

Synopsis : There are words Violet heard on the battlefield, which she cannot forget. These words were given to her by someone she holds dear, more than anyone else. She does not yet know their meaning.

A certain point in time, in the continent of Telesis. The great war which divided the continent into North and South has ended after four years, and the people are welcoming a new generation.

Violet Evergarden, a young girl formerly known as "the weapon", has left the battlefield to start a new life at CH Postal Service. There, she is deeply moved by the work of "Auto Memories Dolls", who carry people's thoughts and convert them into words.

Violet begins her journey as an Auto Memories Doll, and comes face to face with various people's emotions and differing shapes of love. All the while searching for the meaning of those words.
Thoughts : KyoAni once again proves they are the best when it comes to animation. Yes UFOTABLE is flashier but just look at the A-list of great anime from KyoAni. Violet Evergarden was a visual and emotional tour de force that has carved itself into my heart. Especially the later episodes were quite emotional. Make sure to keep some tissues on hand.

Sora Yori mo Tooi Basho

Synopsis : Our first step was always curiosity. For unseen sights, unheard sounds, unsmelled scents, untouched textures, untasted tastes, and unfelt excitement. We travel to find the bits and pieces that we’d forgotten at some point. Howling at 40 degrees, going mad at 50 degrees, screaming at 60 degrees, to the primordial lands beyond the great oceans, at the edge of the earth, far removed from human civilization. This is the story of four girls who travel to the Antarctic, further even than outer space.
Thoughts : Place further than the Universe was an amazing coming of age anime filled with oodles of character development, some really funny scenes and a really emotional one as well. Highly recommended anime!

Sangatsu no Lion 2

Synopsis : This is a gentle tale about people trying to regain something. And it is a tale of battle.

Kiriyama Rei had lost his family in an accident when he was young. Now he is a 17-year-old pro shogi player who is burdened with deep loneliness. Rei lives alone in an old town in Tokyo, but after becoming acquainted with three sisters, Akari, Hinata and Momo, he begins to change little by little...
Thoughts : It's no secret that Sangatsu no Lion's first season was one of my favorite anime from 2017. The second didn't disappoint one bit. Though I'm sure the issues surrounding Hina was rough for everyone watching it. A fantastic anime everyone must see at least once in their life.

Mahou Tsukai no Yome

Synopsis : With her mother dead and father long gone, Hatori Chise has spent her childhood being passed unwanted from relative to relative, until she finally makes her unfortunate way to a strange and improbable auction block. Offered as a sleigh beggy to the highest bidder, Chise is purchased by the (literally) boneheaded Elias Ainsworth, who promises to take her on as his apprentice. Elias is a mage, and his world is one of dragons and faeries - but before Chise can begin to get accustomed to all that nonsense, Elias drops another bombshell. Apparently Chise isn't just intended to be his apprentice - she will also be his bride.
Thoughts : Before you start your journey into a magical world that puts Harry Potter to shame. I highly recommend watching the OVAs first as it would provide much needed background information. Be prepared though Ancient Magus Bride is going to crawl deep into your heart and play with your emotions, happy and  sad.

Yuru Camp

Synopsis : Rin likes to go camping by herself along the lakes that provide a scenic view of Mt. Fuji. Nadeshiko loves to take cycling trips by herself to places where she can see Mt. Fuji. After they meet, Rin and Nadeshiko take camping trips, eat cup ramen together, and enjoy the scenery.
Thoughts : Yuru Camp has everything in it that makes the Slice of Life genre such a joy to watch. Absolutely fun characters, relaxed pacing, fantastic scenery and music. And of course, scenes that just make you smile. The perfect anime to forget about the hard day at work/school you had.

Those were my top 5 anime from the Winter 2018 anime Season, But that wasn't the only anime I watched. Which anime were your top 5 from the last season?

Here are my thoughts on the rest.

Overlord 2 : With the Third season of Overlord gracing our screens soon, the second season, which mostly consisted of fleshing out the side characters a bit more. Doesn't feel like such a waste. and the end of Season 2 was really good.

Dagashi Kashi 2 : The second season of Dagashi Kashi shown, without any doubt, that the show is nothing without Hotaru. A shame the animation wasn't on par with the first season though.

B The Beginning : B the beginning came out on a weird time in the season, but that's more a netflix thing. Quite an interesting anime for the most part, good action and characters. Loved LILY. The end was kinda alright. Unsure if I would like to see a second season though.

A.I.C.O. - Incarnation : A.I.C.O. like B The Beginning also came out at a weird timeframe season wise, It was another anime released by Netflix though. And it has a really interesting premise to say the least. But it does feel kind of confused at parts.

Citrus : I'm a huge fan of Yuri anime, and I honestly hoped Citrus would have turned out better than it did. It's not bad but the constant drama being fabricated gets a bit much. It does have some hot yuri though.

Takunomi : It had a few cute scenes but I honestly wouldn't recommend people watch it. Other than some interesting facts about japanese it's not really worth your time.

Killing Bites : Killing Bites turned out to be a lot of fun to watch, had great action, a few VERY lewd scenes and quite an unexpected twist at the end.

ReLIFE OVA : I'm extremely happy that they actually animated the end to ReLIFE, though it is a huge shame they had to cut so much out from the manga. Still a good end to the series.

Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san : Who would have thought that an anime about cute girls slurping noodles and eating ramen would end up being so entertaining..

Mitsuboshi Colors : This anime was a lot more fun that I thought it would be, give it a shot. 

Slow Start : Slow Start is more than just a cute girls doing cute things show, it actually had a fair bit of lessons presented as problems each of the characters faced. But yes it has lots of cute!

Ryuuou no Oshigoto! : I'll admit March comes in like a lion gave me high hopes for this Shogi anime. A fairly fun anime was ruined for me by the utterly terrible MC.

Kokkoku : Wow, what a ride this anime was. Criminally underrated. For some reason this gem slipped completely under the radar of the majority of anime fans this season.

Garo - Vanishing Line : The third Garo anime was thankfully a HUGE improvement over the second. Garo - Vanishing Line has everything that makes the Garo franchise great. If you want supernatural action, look no further.

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens : This turned out to be a lot of fun, for an anime about a city full of hitmen, Though I'll be fair the reason I kept watching this anime was the amazing cast of characters and their stories. Would love to see more.

Koi Wa Ameagari no You ni : A bittersweet story of a girl falling in a love with someone much older than her, but also a tale of how people handle setbacks and recover from wounds, both physically and emotionally.

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san : This anime was adorable, what initially just looks like a girl teasing a boy slowly grows into something more. Smiles are guaranteed with this one.

Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyouku : The title is a mouthful but unfortunately this addition to the very popular "isekai" genre is lacking of much substance. Sure it has some cute scenes but there isn't much more to it.

That covers about all the anime I finished watching from the winter 2018 Anime season. What are your thoughts on the past season? I'll cover what looks promising in the Spring season as soon as I've seen everything it has to offer.

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